Check Into This Refreshed Mid-century Motel In Long Beach

Mid-century motel makeovers are certainly having a moment. Next-up on our radar is the 1962 City Center Motel, stretching over an entire block in Long Beach, California. Omgivning, with Richard Kassab at the helm, was a natural choice for the job. The DTLA-based firm specializes in urban adaptive reuse while including new construction and all types of mixed-use interiors in its portfolio. Catalyst came when the property’s new owner, developer Paloma Communities and operator, Sonder took over the site, 26,000 square feet of interiors on two floors in typical motel fashion. “It was vacant, but not dilapidated,” Kassab starts, citing Omgivning’s scope encompassing architecture and public space. The 50-room key count, however, remained constant, and new furnishings throughout came via the Sonder team.

In Swedish, the word omgivning means environment or ambience. In other words, the way a space feels. Kassab’s interpretation starts where hospitality begins, at the entry court. He created a welcoming presence by transforming the dominant parking lot into a central, pedestrian-friendly oasis graced with new landscaping and hardscape revolving around a restored pool. “The courtyard was the main idea,” says Kassab. “How to make it experiential itself.” No doubt about success. Now it’s a space folks flock to rather than flee from.

Step Into This Pedestrian-Friendly Oasis By Omgivning

As for the building’s exterior, it presents a newly vibrant painted face. Formerly dull beige and brown, the façade proclaims a cheerful vibe via pink and yellow tones while historic signage glows green at night. Existing fins and CMU panels sport fresh whitewashed coats.

Inside, accessed via a route of paired driveways, the arrival experience is altered as well. Erstwhile reception is now the restaurant Olive & Rose, presided over by the chef brother and sister team, Philip and Lauren Pretty, also owners of a Michelin-starred restaurant nearby. Omgivning was responsible for core and shell work along with transforming the adjacent carport into a secluded patio. Meanwhile, the altered configuration situates the lobby, with its wood check-in desk and paneled backdrop, at the end of the second driveway. A gym and guest quarters complete the first floor. The upper level is all guest rooms, more or less identical at 290 square feet.

Who goes there? “Mostly young couples,” Kassab notes. The draw? “Its mid-century vibe and standout by being something else for Long Beach.”

Stay A Night At The City Center Motel By Transformed By Omgivning

Discover Local Craftsmanship At This Cabo San Lucas Seaside Resort

Known for its vibrant sunsets, picturesque beaches, and surfable waves, Cabo San Lucas has become one of Mexico’s most popular upscale vacation destinations. Located at the southern tip of Baja California, its shores are, thus, saturated with glamorous hotels and resorts. While it can be hard to stand out in the crowd, a more discreet approach assures the recently opened Four Seasons Resort and Residences Cabo San Lucas at Cabo Del Sol feels different than the rest. 

With architecture by Robert C. Glazier and interiors by EDG and Meyer Davis, the 260,000-square-foot paradise has been created to resemble a low-slung hacienda-style village rather than a towering hotel block, with a series of casitas terraced down its sloping beachfront site. It quells another stereotype of hospitality projects in Mexico, too: Rather than a brash  fiesta of colors and patterns that might pervade less discerning resort designs, this one is rooted in true local flair with artworks, objects, and artisan craftsmanship sourced from across the country.

EDG & Meyer Davis Honor Traditions at Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas

“It was important to Four Seasons that even the whole arrival sequence feel authentic,” begins Jennifer Johanson, president and CEO of EDG, which handled the project’s four Richard Sandoval dining experiences, El Taller art studio, specialty grocery, surf shack–inspired adventure center, and two swimming pools, and ranks 120th among the Interior Design Rising Giants, up from 129 last year, counting such luxury resort brands as Camelback and Mii Amo as clients. “Visitors drive through a little arch and come into a sort of town square. That feeling helped inspire the cast of characters that would surround it.”

Those “characters” include Mediterranean restaurant Palmerio, its interior layering a retro European riviera vibe with Mexican accessories, like the vintage poncheras, or punch bowls, from Michoacán and elsewhere in the region that sit inside niches. Johanson sourced them at auction and worked with Jaliscan studio Laguna Mosaicos to create Majolica-look encaustic floor tiles. On the rooftop is Sora, a bar that overlooks the Sea of Cortez and features a statement driftwood table from Oaxaca that she found at a Mexico City gallery. Open to the elements, its conversation pit–style seating was constructed using sculptural plaster-covered concrete. With few walls, lighting, gentle and flattering, largely originates from the ground. “Even if the architectural profiles are modern and sleek, the textures are reminiscent of the locale,” adds Johanson, who traveled widely in Mexico to engage local artisans and source art for the project. The result, she notes, is “kind of like an encyclopedia of the country’s different regions.” Every eatery on the property embraces its water views and a seamless indoor-outdoor relationship.

Embrace The Indoor-Outdoor Life At Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas

The same spirit extends to Meyer Davis’s scope of the project, which encompassed the lobby and other public spaces, 96 guest rooms, spa, and La Casona Bar. “From the moment guests arrive, we really focused on the materials,” recalls Gray Davis, who, with Will Meyer, is firm cofounder and an Interior Design Hall of Fame member; Meyer Davis, which ranks 60th, up from 71, among the top 100 Giants, has a vibrant portfolio spanning residential, retail, workplace, and hospitality, its La Casa Dragones earning a 2024 Interior Design Best of Year Award. Indigenous ojinaga limestone, Mexican alder wood, and barrel-vaulted clay-tiled roofs complement contemporary steel-framed windows and doors, oak paneling and beams, and plaster walls across these spaces. But the concept also centers on “first impressions,” he continues—informing subtle decisions like depressing the lobby’s La Casona slightly to preserve a view to the sea or ensuring that terrace doors in the standard rooms, suites, and villas open fully to the horizon and entice visitors down meandering paths to the beach. (The property also hosts 46 branded residences designed by Meyer Davis.)

Wanting the resort to feel grounded in its environment, the firm strategically positioned the villas’ private pools and terraces atop natural rock outcroppings to offer vistas over the shore, while others feature lush planters and vibrant flowers. Stone-walled outdoor showers extend this feeling. 

Get An Enchanting View Of The Sea At Four Seasons Cabo San Lucas

The room interiors were inspired by the land, as well. “In Baja, the coast is so rugged and the terrain so dramatic, but it’s arid and dry,” Meyer adds. “That drove a lot of the materiality and color decisions, as reflected in a natural, sandy, soft palette with wood used in reserved but potent moves.” Whimsical touches like terra-cotta pendant fixtures with oversize shades, bold maritime-blue fabrics on armchairs and pillows, and hand-painted Mexican tiles break the scheme. And throughout the property, statement-making hues are often introduced through pieces by local artists. “I think Mexican design is too often lumped into one idea,” Meyer says. Both his studio and EDG used the resort’s thoughtfully edited aesthetic to work actively against this tendency and toward a celebration of the country’s diversity of art, craft, and even climate.

While much of the resort is set atop the natural topography, Tierra Mar Spa, its entrance marked by the calming sounds of a mosaic waterfall, is set into the landscape itself. Past the gable-roofed reception area, for which Meyer Davis chose an asymmetrical wood desk, is a serene garden with rambling streams. Continue toward the fitness areas and pool and the ocean comes back into view, beyond a smattering of the resort’s quaint tiled rooftops.

“With the sun setting over the sea and the waves crashing against large rocks, it’s almost like a movie set,” Davis concludes. “It’s cinematic,” notes Meyer. But despite Hollywood’s best tries, this place is the real deal.

Vacation At This Seaside Resort by EDG and Meyer Davis

Journey Into The New Mexico

This Resort Is Rooted In Artisan Craftsmanship Across Mexico

EDG: BROOKE TUMSAROCH; CINDY MOORE; JANE MCGOLDRICK; DAVE MAYNARD; VICTORIA DENNY; VARRUNA MITRA; KEVIN PEREIRA; BRIANNA SANCHEZ. ZOE PINFOLD; JENNIFER DANIELS; AMANDA DAVIS; TINA HU; LIZELLE FOOSE; PEDRO BARILLAS; SHIFRA BERG: MEYER DAVIS. GENSLER: ARCHITECT OF RECORD. LUX POPULI: LIGHTING DESIGN. VITA PLANNING AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT. URIBE KRAYER: ART CONSULTANT. WARISAN: CUSTOM FURNITURE WORKSHOP. BLACK PALM DEVELOPMENT: GENERAL CONTRACTOR.

FROM FRONT THROUGH BOMBOTI: DRIFTWOOD TABLE (SORA). SANDALVECI: DINING CHAIRS. TILE FEVER: CUSTOM FLOOR TILE. PALECEK: WOVEN SEATING (SORA, LOBBY), CHAIRS (PALMERIO). KETTAL: STACKABLE CHAIRS (PALMERIO). LAGUNA MOSAICO: CUSTOM FLOOR TILE. THROUGH MERCANTIL: SUNDIAL (PALMERIO), SMALL BLACK PLANTER (SORA). IWORKS: CUSTOM CHANDELIER (LOBBY). ROYAL CUSTOM DESIGNS: CUSTOM SOFA (LOBBY), CUSTOM HEADBOARD (SUITE). NATURAL URBAN: TABLES (LOBBY, VILLA TERRACE, SPA). ARTERIORS: PLANTER (LOBBY), SCONCES (VILLA). VIBIA: CUSTOM SCONCES (SORA). CLAYBROOK: TUB (BATHROOM). REMINGTON: PENDANT FIXTURE. ELECTRIC MIRROR: MIRRORS. BLOOM LIGHTING GROUP: CUSTOM PENDANT FIXTURES (PALMERIO, BOUTIQUE). STUDIO SOFA: PLANTERS (VILLA). DANAO: CHAISE LONGUES (VILLA TERRACE), CHAIRS, SOFA (VILLA). PERENNIALS AND SUTHERLAND: CUSHION FABRIC (SPA TERRACE); STOOLS, CHAIRS (BAR BRISAL). ZENITH: RUGS (VILLA, SPA). TARACEA: ROUND TABLE (VILLA), SIDE TABLES (SUITE). FANIMATION: FANS (VILLA, SUITE). ULA LIGHTING: LAMPS (SUITE). IAN LOVE DESIGN: CUSTOM VITRINES (SPA). GINGER AND JAGGER: RECEPTION DESK. HUDSON VALLEY LIGHTING: LAMPS. CALARGA MÉXICO: WALL HANGING (BOUTIQUE). CLÉ: TILE (ADVENTURE CENTER).

Rockwell Group Reimagines W Hollywood With Theatricality

Hollywood, the land of dreamers. A magnet for filmmakers, musicians, creatives, moguls, and tourists. The recently renovated W Hollywood hotel at the district’s heart attracts them all while expressing one of the first iterations of Marriott’s evolving luxury brand. Collabo­rating with W since 1998, David Rockwell and team’s latest endeavor encompasses 18,000 square feet of public space and more than 300 guest rooms. Pervasive are residential influences and the rich layering of materiality, texture, and light.

Magic begins at W Hollywood’s triple-height lobby. Frankly sexy, the cinematic lounge features lush deep-green conversation-pit seating that’s sinuously referential to nearby topography and, overhead, an artful assembly of bronze-mirror oval panels and acrylic rods. Spectacular 35-foot-tall concrete “curtains,” seemingly as fluid as fabric, bracket the fireplace. Meanwhile, a wall of bifold glass panels connects the lobby and bar to the garden patio.

Guest rooms, an intimate respite from revelry and scenesters, boast bespoke wraparound seating, wallcovering akin to Venetian plaster, and custom lighting. Ever attentive to the theatrical quality of light, Rockwell surrounded windows with a blue-glass box to pick up reflections of the Hollywood Hills.

10 Questions With… Emma Maclean

Emma Maclean Embodies Her Love Of Hong Kong In Her Hospitality Work

Interior Design: Where is home for you: Hong Kong or Sydney?

Emma Maclean: Hong Kong. Although both my parents are from Sydney and I spent nine years at school there, my bones are tied to the fabric of Hong Kong. I grew up with the flavors, sights, and sounds of the city. Sydney is beautiful and inspirational while Hong Kong has the energy that makes my heart smile. I love that my studio is in its historic core, tied to its life and movements. When I come back to Hong Kong after being away, it’s like being welcomed back with a big hug.

ID: What are your takeaways from growing up in a design household?

EM: We had many dinner table conversations about managing clients and finding solutions to design problems. My late father had a ferocious work ethic and an old school mentality. He taught me that it is not just about the design—we need to look after our clients because we provide a service.

I also learned the importance of communication. When dad first started working in Hong Kong, there were no interior designers—just architects and decorators. Hilton asked him to handle the construction of a new café in the hotel and he jumped at the chance. He learned Cantonese on site, as he worked with local contractors and understood that communication needed to be as quick and direct as possible to not delay the process. Dad always said that if you can design a hotel, you can design anything.

ID: Who were your other mentors?

EM: After design school, the global economic downturn made it challenging to find a job in Australia. I spent half a year in Rome on a language course, and then returned to Hong Kong in 2008. Oscar Llinas was my first boss at Bilkey Llinas Design. When I first showed the presentation boards I put together for a hotel project, he said wryly: “This is not how you seduce me, Emma. Do you run to your lover without any clothes on? You must take me on a design journey.” I turned purple with embarrassment! Showmanship and the art of presentation were lessons well learned.

My next job with Steve Leung Designers taught me the importance of diversification. Steve is always thinking outside the box and is a true businessman. He creates elegant spaces but also does so much more than design. I also loved working with Mathew Lui at HBA. He is really a designer’s designer, and I have never seen someone who could make a plan come to life so beautifully and with so much logic.

ID: You recently completed a residential project in Happy Valley?

EM: Yes, we converted a three-bedroom apartment in a heritage building into a two-bedroom one. It was for a couple from Sydney who loves entertaining. The space is open with tons of natural light. We created a little retreat for them with many details and a design that respected the location’s village vibe.  

The residence followed a series of spaces we designed for a private club in Hong Kong, including a café, wellness center, and common areas. It was very luxurious with rich tones and colors, dark flooring, and a traditional look that reflects the clientele. I love that some of our projects are tiny while others are design build and several thousand square feet in size. If we keep pivoting, we will never stagnate or run out of fresh ideas.

ID: What makes your design for the Hauser & Wirth gallery space special?  

EM: We worked with Hauser & Wirth gallery’s Hong Kong and London teams on a three-story space in Central, Hong Kong. The project was all about finding one-of-a-kind pieces. The desk from De La Espada was like origami with drawers that opened like a fan. We curated settings around particular works of art, and specified brands such as Cassina and Giorgetti. We worked with a master carpenter to make consoles in just four weeks. We included a meeting table with a copper base to encourage good feng shui. It was a happy project.

ID: And you recently upgraded a super yacht.

EM: Silentworld is a 2006 yacht and a renovation project with many technical details. We took it to a dry dock and everyone worked on it at the same time as the schedule was very tight. There were issues underneath the flooring, and we ended up having to replace it. There were many architectural elements that we kept though, including the dark wood trim, the circular detail above the dining area, and the staircase, where we added a lot more lighting to make it brighter. We also updated all the furniture and specified all outdoor pieces so they can be more flexible to use and easy to clean. The project was about addressing what could be changed while keeping an eye on the bottom line. Since a yacht is always in motion, we had to be clever in our construction approach to minimize warping.

ID: Tell me about some of your collaborations.

EM: As designers, we are always stronger together and can learn so much from each other. Collaborations expose us to clients and projects that we normally don’t encounter. That said, it started with my sister Caitlin. We were classmates in university and came back to Hong Kong at the same time. We had always helped one another, and we continue to work on projects together. I’m a big picture person; Caitlin is all about the details. We are good bookends because we feed into each other’s strengths.

Visual artist Elsa Jeandedieu also creates stunning murals and is such a pleasure to work with. She has become a good friend over the years. Architect J.J. Acuna and I collaborated on projects including Xiao Ting, the Cantonese restaurant in Four Seasons Hotel Macao. When we work together, it’s like a well oiled machine and we bring this collaborative spirit to our clients. 

ID: Why teach at Insight School of Interior Design?

EM: I have always believed that it is vital to mentor young designers. The profession is not just about us, but also the future of design. After all, someone gave me a chance. And I’ve employed people that I taught.

At Insight, I taught drawing and hospitality from 2016 to 2022 on a part time basis. Many young people think they draw up a plan and they are done. It is important for them to see the space is alive, with different scenarios for different times of the day and different uses. Every project has its own story.

Learning design is like learning another language and becoming fluent at it. Classes at Insight became a design family for its teachers and students. It was wonderful to share my years of experience with students, and it is rewarding to make a difference.

ID: Why is sketching important for you?

EM: Sketching is the beginning, and I do a lot of it by hand. Sketching is about conveying ideas and so much of our work is illustrative. It is important to be able to explain things to contractors on site with just a marker on a wall. A drawing is easier to read than text and can say so much. Technology can always fail.

ID: How do you recharge your batteries?

EM: I love being on water and grew up sailing in Sydney and Lantau island in Hong Kong. We are all keen sailors in my family, and are longtime members of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. There is nothing more refreshing than going for a run or hike in the hills of Hong Kong to clear my head. I am so lucky to have it all at my fingertips. I can finish work, run up to The Peak, and the city is at my feet. It is pure magic. I can’t do that anywhere else in the world.

I also love to see how community is everything in Hong Kong. Several generations often live together in the same household. I see elderly folks playing the flute to birds in the park or taking a grandchild to school. Everyone has a reason to get up and move here. It is so harmonious and wonderful to see how we are all gently knitted together.

Discover AvroKO’s Bold Creative Hub For Innovation

It’s a trendlet. Firms investing in spaces beyond their offices for experimentation, community, and curation. There’s RW Guild by Roman and Williams and Ken Fulk’s namesake retail bungalow. The latest is Host on Howard, a long-brewing concept by Giants firm AvroKO founding partners Kristina O’Neal, Adam Farmerie, William Harris, and Greg Bradshaw, who count Danny Meyer, Ian Schrager, 1 Hotels, and LVMH among their clients. “It’s our love letter to hospitality,” O’Neal says, pointing to the “huglike” arches and intimate horseshoe-shape bar defining the 1,500-square-foot gallery, located on the ground floor of the SoHo building (on Howard Street) where AvroKO’s studio is. Sprinkled throughout are what she calls “tools for gathering,” high-design solutions for entertaining: bar trolleys, soft-glow lighting, furniture—all custom and available on HOH’s website. Also on display are objets and artworks selected or made by the team; they’re currently surrounded by walls painted a progressively darkening dusty green for “The Paradisa,” the Eden-themed inaugural exhibition. So far, it’s backdropped a Lunar New Year celebration, salons, and book launches. “We hope,” O’Neal adds, “we’re creating experiences that foster a more connected world.”

UFO or Winery? This Contemporary Structure Stuns In Hungary

How do you create an attention-grabbing modern building that integrates seamlessly with its timeless rural setting as though it has always belonged there? This conundrum faced Bord Architectural Studio and Tihany Design when they collaborated on Sauska Tokaj, a new hilltop winery and restaurant complex near Rátka, in Hungary’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region. The resulting structure—a pair of limestone-clad saucers—is both strange and familiar, like a UFO that’s just touched down or is emerging, chrysalislike, from the earth. It’s almost as if the Hungarian countryside itself is giving birth to the next wave in contemporary architecture.

“Normally, you couldn’t build anything here because it’s a protected area,” says Péter Bordás, principal of Bord Architectural Studio. “But somehow this particular hill isn’t part of it.” Searching for a building typology that minimized site impact yet realized the client’s vision of a brand-enhancing, destination-worthy landmark, the architect rejected working in the vernacular as “fake.” Instead, he turned to the sphere as a structural form that requires minimal contact with the ground or can even seem to float above it. He cut off the sphere’s top and bottom caps and placed them on the ridge. Slightly overlapping, the steel-framed, limestone-clad bowls, each 118 feet in diameter, are gently tilted to follow the slope of the hillside, from which they survey the landscape like a pair of benevolent eyes.

Behind the Design of Sauska Tokaj, a Hilltop Winery

The architecturally iconoclastic, two-level winery breaks regional precedent in other ways, too. “We had to accommodate hospitality functions—a restaurant and bar—which have never really existed in this area,” Bordás continues. Nor has the kind of large-scale industrial production the facility supports. “You don’t see any ‘factories’ here because, traditionally, the region’s winemakers dig small cellars and put the aging barrels there.” Following that artisanal model, the architect has buried all the viticulture works and equipment either directly beneath the bowls or in the hillside behind them. Only the fermentation areas, with tall stainless-steel tanks encircling rows of oak wine casks, are visible through the glazed gap between the building’s spherical undersides and the ground.

The twin bowls house the restaurant, bar, and dining terraces. Together with the reception area and a tasting room—about a quarter of the 63,000-square-foot winery—they were outfitted by Tihany Design. The client, familiar with the firm’s work in Hungary and elsewhere, approached now-retired founder and Interior Design Hall of Fame member Adam D. Tihany, who initiated the project and remained involved throughout, working closely with new owner and principal Alessia Genova. She’s the first to admit that the intersecting cup shapes of the two major volumes with their sloping walls presented a challenge. “We needed to be respectful of Peter’s unique architectural vision,” she says, “creating an interior that complements the exterior while also providing a warm restaurant ambience.”

How Biophilic Elements Inform Sauska Tokaj

One issue was that the entry and reception area are located at the rear, so arriving patrons don’t see the structure’s sculptural form, which is mostly hidden by the crest of the hill. It’s not until they pass through a skylit tunnel and reach the restaurant itself that they get to experience the building’s complex curves, though the sweeping arc of the forecourt canopy hints at things to come. So does the custom oak reception desk, a massive biomorphic form that not only echoes the architecture but also recalls, as Genova notes, “the hills of Tokaj as well as the wood barrels and other organic elements that go into winemaking.” Behind the desk, a glass-enclosed, sunken garden brings in natural light and offers a view into the tasting room beyond, one of the few orthogonal spaces in the hospitality area. At the end of the restaurant tunnel, immediately before the maître d’ station, a curving staircase leads down to the fermentation areas, the only section of the winemaking facilities that is accessible to the public.

The dining area spills across both bowls, each boasting a large hemispherical terrace for eating, lounging, and taking in the vineyard-dotted panorama. Near the entrance, the wine bar exemplifies Genova’s response to the spaces’ curvilinear geometrics. A marble-topped horseshoe faced in oak, the stool-lined counter curls beneath an illuminated tubular ceiling fixture with an integrated stainless-steel wineglass rack. This striking element not only anchors the bar but also acts as a node from which deep track-lighting grooves radiate like a sunburst—a dynamic feature that, the designer observes, “creates the same dramatic effect you get on the outside of the building on the inside, while putting a focus on the glasses and the bar, attracting people to it.”

An open kitchen—similar to the bar in form, materials, and space-orchestrating function—dominates the second dining area. Walnut fluting encases the steel structural columns, introducing a note that harmonizes classical refinement with rustic warmth. The same wood, which Genova describes as “soft to the touch, velvety,” is used throughout for millwork and furniture. The plaster-finished walls share an equivalent silky tactility and are rendered in the palest green, a delicate hue echoed in the napkins and other details. By contrast, the custom bronze-and-alabaster sconces punctuating the rooms are anything but reticent. Resembling tiny flying saucers, the captivating fixtures could almost be the offspring of the mother ship that shelters them.

This Winery by Tihany Design Looks Straight Out of a Sci-Fi Dream

Sauska Tokaj Glows After Dark

BORD ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO: CSILLA KRACKER; ROBERT GYÖRGY BENKE; FRUZSINA DAMÁSDI; RÓBERT GULYÁS; ÁGOTA MELINDA KERESZTESI-ANGI; ANDRÁS KÉKI; BALÁZS MÓSER; GYÖRGYI PÜSPÖKI; TAMÁS TOLVAJ; KATA ZIH. TIHANY DESIGN: ADAM D. TIHANY; MARCO BARONE. CRISTINA MENOTTI: GRAPHICS/BRANDING CONSULTANT. JVL STUDIO: LIGHTING CONSULTANT. HYDRASTAT: STRUCTURAL ENGINEER. BORD HVAC ENGINEERING: MEP. ARTDOT: MILLWORK.

ERTL BÚTOR: CUSTOM DESK (RECEPTION). ARTISAN: STOOLS (RESTAURANT, BAR), CHAIRS (RESTAURANT). PORADA: CUSTOM TABLES (RESTAURANT). VERY WOOD: HIGH TABLE (RESTAURANT), CHAIRS (TASTING ROOM). UNOPIÙ: CHAIRS, TABLES (TERRACES). VERASCHIN: CIRCULAR SOFAS. CASAMANCE: SEATING UPHOLSTERY. TUUCI: UMBRELLAS. ATELIER VIERKANT: PLANTERS. APPARATUS: SCONCES (TASTING ROOM). THROUGHOUT FOGLIZZO 1921; MOORE & GILES: LEATHER UPHOLSTERY. GC: PAINT.

Ippolito Fleitz Group Entices Shoppers To China’s MixC Mall

2024 Best of Year Winner for Mall

MixC Mall, the massive retail establishment designed by Ippolito Fleitz Group, spanning 758,900 square feet and encompassing 360 stores, brings the glamor back to in-person shopping. The complex in Wuxi, China, was conceived as a sort of urban landscape, oriented around three six-story atriums in which dynamic features draw the eye up and enhance the visitor experience. Throughout, a neutral white canvas is accented with dark coppery-red details in the form of balustrades and faceted metal panels cladding the undersides of escalators and balconies that shimmer like water reflections. In the lower-level food court, the ceiling seems to drip, and seating units resemble river rocks, while the double-height Moon Garden, an event space that hosts performances and exhibitions, captivates with a semicircular light element that’s mirrored in the stainless-steel ceiling above, evoking a glowing lunar orb.

PROJECT TEAM: JOSE MISO; SHARK HUANG; MAGGIE JIA; CHENYU HUANG; HOLIDAY GUO; OLIVIA WENG; J.C.; CHAO XIE.

Step Back In Time In This Retro-Chic Istanbul Club

Turkish architecture and interior design studio Geo_ID has transformed a former gym into a retro membership club and versatile multifunctional space that is inspired by 1950s design, combining modern comfort and contemporary aesthetics. The ClubHouse, which opened a few months ago in Istanbul, is furnished with a carefully curated mix of special furniture pieces, lighting accessories, and objects from the owner’s own collection, seeking to create a timeless style infused with mid-century charm.

In keeping with the materials of the era, the space has been decorated with high-quality polished oak wood wall panels, giving color and texture to the interiors. This is contrasted by exposed concrete ceilings with a linear cassette system, spotlights, LED lighting niches, and techno-cement floors, drawing inspiration from the brutalist architecture of the time.

For The ClubHouse, Geo_ID Mixes Retro Vibes With Modern Versatility

“The former gym space was completely redesigned from scratch, with new areas added to complement the preexisting gym facilities,” GEO_ID co-founder Tugce Rizeli Bilgi says. “We renovated the entrance area with a welcome desk and reconfigured circulation paths for better flow, as well as redesigned the changing rooms with luxurious materials, oak lockers, and modern mid-century elements.

“We also created a speakeasy bar space that features gridded shelving with LED lighting, perfect for hosting intimate gatherings or enjoying drinks,” he adds. “And added flexible lounge areas suitable for working, dining, socializing, or holding business meetings.”

Explore ClubHouse Amenities 

The ClubHouse Features An Earthy Palette And Luxurious Furnishings